Negotiating Identity in Modern Foreign Language Teaching

This edited book examines modern foreign language teachers who research their own and others' experiences of identity construction in the context of living and teaching in UK institutions, primarily in the Higher Education sector. The book offers an insight into a key element of the educational and socio-political debate surrounding MFL in the UK: the teachers' voices and their sense of agency in constructing their professional identities. The contributors use a combination of empirical research and personal reflection to generate knowledge about MFL teachers' identity that can enhance how they are perceived in the social and educational establishments and raise awareness of key issues affecting the profession. This book will be of particular interest to language teachers, teacher trainers, applied linguists and students and scholars of modern foreign languages.

Showcases empirical research and autobiographical narrative on the topic of MFL teachers' construction of identity in professional contexts Brings together practitioners from a range of cross-institutional and cross-departmental backgrounds Focuses on transnational MFL teachers' negotiation of identity in the UK higher education sector Represents an original contribution to the field in the current climate of the decline of modern languages as a subject of study in the UK

Autorentext
Matilde Gallardo is Visiting Research Fellow at King's College London, UK, where she also teaches Applied Linguistics.

Klappentext

"A fully theorised mosaic of insights into the lives of language teachers, set in the challenging context of British educational policies and social attitudes, which often provide little support or encouragement for language teaching. The chapters analyse a range of complex and dynamic features, including the identities, agency, attitudes, relationships and emotions of the authors. Their explorations will stimulate readers to reflect on their own geographical, intellectual and affective journeys to becoming language teachers and researchers."
-- Jim Coleman, Emeritus Professor of Language Learning and Teaching, The Open University, UK

"This is a timely collection which offers an original and diverse contribution to the field of language teacher identity framed by the use of qualitative methodology and a focus on contemporary foreign language teachers. The studies detailed in each of the chapters will undoubtedly spark a number of interesting debates and further empower teachers as researchers to develop their own work and share it with a wider public. The chapters describe and reflect on how important it is to engage language teachers at different points of their careers to advance contemporary multilingual linguistic studies that match the needs of current students."
-- Ana de Medeiros, Director of the Modern Language Centre, King's College London, UK

This edited book examines modern foreign language teachers who research their own and others' experiences of identity construction in the context of living and teaching in UK institutions, primarily in the Higher Education sector. The book offers an insight into a key element of the educational and socio-political debate surrounding MFL in the UK: the teachers' voices and their sense of agency in constructing their professional identities. The contributors use a combination of empirical research and personal reflection to generate knowledge about MFL teachers' identity that can enhance how they are perceived in the social and educational establishments and raise awareness of key issues affecting the profession. This book will be of particular interest to language teachers, teacher trainers, applied linguists and students and scholars of modern foreign languages.

Matilde Gallardo is Visiting Research Fellow at King's College London, UK, where she also teaches Applied Linguistics.

Inhalt
Chapter 1: Introduction to Negotiating Identity in Modern Foreign Language Teaching (Matilde Gallardo).- Part 1: Modern Foreign Language Teachers' Construction of Identity in Professional Contexts.- Chapter 2: Transcultural Voices: Exploring Notions of Identity in Transational Language Teachers' Personal Narratives (Matilde Gallardo).- Chapter 3: Language Teacher/Translator Gendered Identity Construction- from Dilemmatic to Agentive. Big Lives Through Small Stories (Tanya Linaker).- Chapter 4: 'When I Am Teaching German, I Put on a Persona': Exploring Lived Experiences of Teaching a Modern Foreign Language (M. Luisa Pérez Cavana).- Chapter 5: Becoming a Language Professional in Higher Education: a Psycho-Social Case Study (Donata Puntil).- Chapter 6: Modern Language Teacher Identity Formation Through Engagement with Exploratory Practice. The Future Will Tell (Assia Slimani-Rolls).- Chapter 7: How a Community of Practice Shapes a Modern Foreign Language Teacher's Views ofHerself as a Teacher Over Time and Space:a Biographical Case Study (Christina Richardson).- Part 2: Modern Foreign Language Teachers' Personal Stories.- Chapter 8: Constructing Hybrid Identities in the Language Classroom (Lorenza Boscaini, Debora Quattrocchi).- Chapter 9: The Journey to Becoming a Language Teacher: Motivation and Engagement with the Process of Professional Development and Lifelong Learning (Laura Puente Martin, Susanne Winchester).